Wash Day
by LittleWingx
Summary: First in the Hair Pair series. Klaus washes Bonnie's hair. Bonnie has a crisis of commitment.


**Author's Note:** First in the Hair Pair series. I didn't want to put myself through my own wash day. Doesn't matter if it's when my hair is relaxed, or natural, I just don't want to do it. And then I thought about how Bonnie might go through wash day. And surely it must be easier for witches. But maybe it's not. Maybe they just don't want to do it either. Maybe not even magic can save a plastic comb from the tangle struggle. But maybe it's easier with help. And maybe you sleep with that help. And that help is white and male and he'll never wash his hair like you do, but he wants to take care of you and that means helping you take care of you. And also he's over a thousand and part wolf and yeah. That's how this happened.

* * *

 _Similar to many other types of animals, wolves frequently express their fondness through mutual grooming activities. This kind of grooming is especially prevalent in male and female wolf pairs, before mating acts occur.  
\- **Probably National Geographic or Something at Some Point.**_

Ugh, it's Saturday.

Wait. Maybe she's wrong.

Bonnie feels around for her phone, but it isn't where she left it. So she has to get up slightly and reach _over_ the sleeping hybrid next to her to see where her phone went. And of course, he threw it across the room and into the nearly full dirty clothes hamper. The only time he can be bothered to get _anything_ in there and it's her phone.

She knows _why_ he does it, and it is kind of sweet in his own sort of _Klaus_ way that he doesn't want people bothering her for what he sees as no reason, but does he have to _throw_ it and throw it so _far_?

* * *

She makes a grumpy noise and shakes the immortal. He can answer her question since her phone can't. " What's today?"

Klaus doesn't open his eyes, or even move really. " Saturday. Go back to sleep, love."

The noise she makes is one of pure dismay and abject whining. And though she does flop back on her pillow, sleep will not come. Because it's Saturday.

" I can't. It's _wash day_."

She expects Klaus to merely grunt and go back to sleep himself; leaving her to worm her way out from under his possessive arm. Or just shove and shake him until he releases her on his own.

What he does instead is sit right up. And damned if he doesn't look _excited_. " I want to help."

Bonnie frowns in clear confusion and turns her head to look at him. " What?"

" I _want_ to _help_ ," the immortal hybrid enunciates with a big smile.

" Why?" Bonnie has to ask. " Why would you want to help? I don't even want to do it and it's _my_ hair. It's not like when you wash _your_ hair, Klaus."

Well now he just looks properly offended. " I am fully aware of the difference, Bonnie."

She squints; at him and the curls on his head. He _sounds_ like he knows what he's talking about, but she's still skeptical. She's never actually _done_ wash day with another person except her Grams. Well, and Caroline, who is all too happy to spend all day playing in hair. Certainly never in the presence of a guy; friend or otherwise.

They've only started sleeping together a couple months ago. Well, sleeping together and ' _sleeping'_ together. **That** was a big step for her already.

- _ **well**_ , that _and_ actually sleeping in the same bed, with Klaus, when the lights were on and he could _see_ that she wrapped her hair in a purple scarf at night. Sometimes. Sometimes she was too tired. He never said anything and she never brought it up and everybody lived happily ever after.

Now look what's happened. She's gotten all comfortable and let wash day come while she's in _his_ house and _he's_ still in it.

This is actually _washing_ her hair they're talking about here! Which is much longer than his, and although not _as_ curly, very much African-American and very much _not_ blond and Norwegian. Some part of her feels absurd for being more worried about her hair being hurt getting washed than she was about her entire body the first time they had sex. But still. This is her _hair_. A protective hand smooths over the silk scarf still wrapped about her head. " You realize it will take a thousand hours to do? Don't let this scarf fool you, there's a struggle under here. I might be as old as you are when I'm done."

He rolls his eyes at her warning. And won't even bother to argue past that, he just grabs her by the wrist and hauls her out of bed with his unfair supernatural strength. " Come on, then."

Come on then, he says.

She doesn't expect Klaus has to patience to actually go through with all of it. Not necessarily because he's Klaus (though his levels of patience tend to fluctuate with his mood) but because washing her hair is a taxing weekly endeavor in and of itself. Relaxed like her own hair, or natural like her grandmother's, black hair is hard work.

Wash day normally takes her three to four hours if she's been diligent-if she's going to _be_ diligent and do everything as she's supposed to, when she's supposed to. Sometimes she doesn't want to take 30 minutes for deep conditioning, sometimes her hair sits in a towel instead of air drying, sometimes detangling can go to hell.

But she won't do or say anything else to dampen his enthusiasm. He's awful cute when he's excited about something, even if it isn't paint or murder. And really, anything he does to lessen her workload would be appreciated. And it is kind of a way to spend more time together; maybe that's what he really wants. And on the off chance he does do something wrong, well, that's what magic is for, isn't it?

So they're off to the bathroom.

She watches him at first, waiting patiently to correct him when he chooses the wrong thing. But he goes about setting out bottles and the stuff she'll actually need. He doesn't just grab the first shampoo and conditioner he finds like she expected. He reads each bottle before placing it on the counter or back where he found it. Once or twice, he even stops to look at her-rather, her hair, which is free from its scarf now-before he grabs something. Shampoo, conditioner, leave-in, rat tail comb, wide tooth comb, ceramic straightening iron. She doesn't even have to tell him to grab the deep conditioner/protein treatment packet she was planning to use. He does it all on his own.

Her surprise must clearly show on her face, because he looks at her after turning the shower water on and laughs. " What? Don't look at me like that, love."

" How did you-how did all that just happen?" She gestures to all the wash day products currently sitting on the counter. All of which he chose correctly. " How did you know all that?"

" You are truly adorable," says the smirking hybrid as he starts to unbutton the shirt she's wearing. Which is actually his shirt. Something he certainly appreciates if the kiss on the shoulder and neck are anything to go by. " This might be my first wash day with _you_ , but it isn't my first wash day ever."

. . . oh.

Oh God, she feels stupid _and_ ashamed.

She's known that there have been other witches he's "messed around with" before her. She's known that he's had serious relationships before her; given his age it would have been impossible not to. Yet it never occurred to her that he was telling the truth (like the **whole** truth) when he said he knew the difference between his hair and hers.

" I . . ." She stalls out as he takes her hand and pulls her into the shower with him. " I'm sorry. I didn't think you knew what the hell you were talking about. Most guys wouldn't."

" Mm," hums the hybrid, very much distracted by the way the water runs over her body. " They likely wouldn't. However, I'm not 'most guys', love. I'm above and beyond."

He could really gloat here. He'd be entitled to it. She wouldn't even stop him, or try to take him down a peg. He knew something she didn't think he'd know. She _assumed_ he didn't know at all. And he might know more than she actually does.

She muses over her own ignorance while moving automatically as he directs her. Under the shower head, then turn her back to him for the shampoo. Then back under the water, then turn around again for conditioning.

She doesn't realize she's made any noise until his fingers stop massaging her scalp. But Klaus does. She can hear the amusement in his voice. " Feel good?"

" Yes." It must have been a moan, or perhaps a whine at the loss of his hands; because she wants them back now. " You know you could really rub this in my face, you'd have every right."

A gentle tug to her wet locks makes her tilt her head back. All the way back until she's resting against his shoulder and can see his smile. And he can steal a kiss. " I think we both can agree there are other places I could rub that would be more beneficial."

He _would_ say something like that. " You're dirty."

" You like it."

He's right. She _does_ like it.

She also likes the way he threads his fingers through her hair to make sure there are no tangles. " You can do that as _long_ as you like. . ."

When he chuckles behind her, it puts her at ease. Which is a mistake, because the next thing she knows, the shock of cold water is pouring down on her head.

She squeals appropriately and tries to escape, but those hands she loved so much earlier keep her right where she is a while longer. Then he releases her and she flees from the shower. " _Niklaus_!"

The full name. Oh, she must be real mad.

He braced himself for the temperature change, but he's still glad to get out of the shower; even if it does mean facing a chilly witch. " Bloody hell, that's really cold."

A towel greets him in the face, but unfortunately does nothing to wipe the grin off of it. Bonnie huffs and continues to dry herself. " You're an _ass_."

He doesn't disagree.

That's what she gets for apologizing to him; revenge served cold.

Dressing helps take the chill out of her skin. Sweats that pool at her bare feet and another shirt of Klaus' (because he hands it to her, not because she chooses it on her own) that keeps sliding off at the shoulder.

She might turn around and choose a navy Henley for him to wear in kind, but she's still grumpy about the cold shower.

She almost doesn't let him take the deep conditioning packet from her. But her fingers are being dumb and won't open it. And the goal of wash day is to fully take care of her hair so she can't just throw it away out of spite.

But she can tilt her head away when he reaches to apply it. " Uh-uh, your hands are cold."

The cool look Klaus gives her makes her think he's about to stomp out of the bathroom and throw a tantrum somewhere. But all he does is push her hands out of the way and take over himself.

He's really taking this seriously.

She concedes when he starts to massage her head again. At some point her eyes fall shut, and she leans back against him. He doesn't _have_ to keep his hands in her hair that long, but he does linger. When she opens her eyes, she catches their reflection in the mirror.

One might think the sight of one Klaus Mikaelson, with his sleeves rolled up, almost wrist deep in brown hair and protein treatment is cause for laughter. In theory it's quite silly, but in practice it's anything but.

Maybe he shifts, or she shifts, or the light flickers. Whatever it is, she catches a glint of amber in his eyes. The _wolf_.

Son of a bitch.

Her lips part to say the words that come to mind. _You're grooming me_. But she doesn't say it. He might know, he might not. But if she brings attention to it, he might stop. Reject the whole process because it speaks to the side of himself that he's still getting to know. Driven by instincts he might not even be aware of.

It seems like wash day is a big step for the both of them.

To groom and care for what he considers, consciously or unconsciously, a part of his pack. To play and show affection so easily when expressing himself in any way except for with violence or paint still gives him a hard time.

Like she said earlier, she doesn't want to dampen his enthusiasm.

" Hmm?" She feels more than hears the curious noise he makes. " What? Were you going to say something?"

" Nothing." Nothing more important than what's happening anyway. " Give me one of those sexy plastic caps."

An hour ago wearing such a thing in his presence would have mortified her. Now, it's just another step in the process. In fact, the 30 minutes they have to wait until the deep conditioner comes out goes by painlessly. She wouldn't have realized the time had passed if not for the timer set on Klaus' phone.

He set a timer on his phone.

Once he's silenced it, he looks up to find her smiling so very fondly at him. But he doesn't know what he's done to deserve such a reaction. " What?"

" I love you."

Dammit, she meant to say 'nothing' again.

But it's out there now, and Klaus can't un-hear it. Her heart can't un-flip from the way he genuinely smiles at her. And gosh, there is nothing she can do to stop the way she _melts_ when he cradles her face in his hands and seals their lips together.

And **what** a kiss it is.

He's good at kissing-he's good at _everything_ but she'd never say so-but that was just _uncalled_ for.

How dare he be just as in love and just as attracted to her while she's dressed all frumpy, has a ton of deep conditioner in her hair and the oh-so-sexy plastic cap to cover it.

" So noted," he replies when they part. Then he nips her lips and helps himself to another deep kiss. Before she can remind him that they have to wash this stuff out of her hair, his hands have slid down from her face to grip onto her thighs and heft her right up.

If she were alone, she'd simply wash it out in the sink or lean over the bathtub and use the shower head. But having a second shower with Klaus (one where the water stays hot and so does she) isn't a bad step to add into her routine at all.

Waiting for her hair to dry is probably the part that takes the longest; and potentially the most boring. That's what she used to be able to say anyway. After not having access to her hair for an entire 30 minutes, Klaus can't keep his hands out of it. Damp hair or no, his fingers run through the strands smoothly. She imagines the wolf in him is content.

Bonnie doesn't mind though. She doesn't mind so much that she dozes off against his side, lulled to sleep by his 'grooming'. He only wakes her by accident, moving her wet hair out from under her cheek. But she knows her hair will make itself a mess if she allows herself to go back to sleep that way. No, she has to wrap it.

Or put rollers in it, but she's not quite ready for _that_ step yet. Letting Klaus see her in rollers is like, _marriage_ material or something. She can never keep them in her head when she sleeps anyway.

She does it herself to be quick, but allows him to tie the scarf back on.

Grams used to get onto her about not taking proper care of her hair when she was younger. And truthfully, she didn't and didn't want to. Whole Saturdays dedicated to oiling her scalp and sitting under a dryer or trapped at a salon, _ugh_. She wonders what her Grams would say to know the immortal hybrid has taken over grooming her now.


End file.
